There is something that has been bugging me for a while, and I would
appreciate it if someone could clear this up for me.
I was pretty startled when I saw that XHTML 2.0 introduced two
versions each of the quote and code elements: one for inline and one
for block. I don't see why an element's implied display property
should have anything to do with its symantic value. I feel it's purely
presentational and the implied display value should only be part of a
default stylesheet, and not a property of the element itself.
If it is meant that block elements imply a break in information or a
separate section of information, then that's what the section element
is for, right? Text inside a single section should be interpreted as
one block of text, so to speak.
I have also heard it argued that block elements imply a larger amount
of content, which also doesn't make sense, because it's rather easy to
just look at the information it contains to see its size. I really
don't understand the argument there.
I see it noted that in blockcode elements, whitespace is considered
significant. I don't see why you couldn't simply use a combination of
code and pre to deliver the same symantic meaning.
If you ask me, in terms of symantic content (which is supposed to be
just about all of XHTML 2.0), there shouldn't be any difference
between block and inline elements, and it should be purely stylistic.
So I really don't see the need for the blockcode and blockquote
elements, nor the rules about which elements may be placed inside
which, as far as display properties go. I know that it doesn't make
sense visually for a block element to be inside an inline element, but
I feel that that should be dealt with on a stylesheet level, not an
element level.